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Ballerium Finally Live I Holidays of the New World
The Year at NCsoft I Official Blizzard Podcast Confirmed

MMORPGAMER
Issue #98 End of the Year Slump
December 27, 2007

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Welcome to MMORPGamer.

Christmas has come and gone, and motivation to do anything is reserved for New Year's Resolutions. For those of you that are back at work, welcome to your oasis. For those of you that have been on vacation for a while, thank goodness you could summon up the energy to get up before five P.M. today.

A few holiday events are still going on for those that have yet to reap the many rewards across the MMORPG universe. Grab your gifts and take a seat as we travel through this week's news.

Off we go!


  Ballerium Finally Live

Ballerium

The new MMORTS Ballerium is now live. The game is free to play and download at the official site. Key features include:

  • Persistent multi-user environment
  • Ability to succeed through trade, roleplaying, combat, and diplomacy
  • AI that completes combat for you if you're disconnected
  • Thousands of players on one map
  • Seven races with unique units and abilities
  • A large community with prizes for participation
  • Low bandwidth requirements

    Here are a few cool pieces of art from Ballerium:

    This type of game really intrigues me, and the official site does a great job of peaking interest with the numerous videos and copious amounts of information regarding the game. Also, users that register before the end of the year are entered in a drawing for a $50 gift card for Jinx.com.


  •   Holiday of the New World

    Sword of the New World

    The New Year's event in Sword of the New World is a great follow up to the wonderful holiday events already underway. If you haven't logged in for a while, every night features lost Christmas trees with prizes and a special version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

    The Cash Shop holiday sale has discounts for players up to 50%, and the new event for the coming year features a 200% increase in gained XP until January 8, 2008. SotNW has been full of fun things to do this holiday season, ranking with me as one of the better games to play this year's winter.


      The Year at NCsoft

    City of Heroes

    At NCsoft's official site, Robert Garriott, President of NCsoft North America, released a message to players regarding the company's progress this year. The message is pretty lengthy and is an example of the extensive list of IPs the company has picked up and produced this year.

    To make a long and exhausting story short:

  • Tabula Rasa went well, featuring extensive customer service, even if it took a long time to produce.
  • City of Heroes has remained unchanged with NCsoft's purchase of the sole rights to the IP. The publisher has big plans in 2008 but won't reveal anything yet.
  • Guild Wars 2 will cost money to buy but will be free to play. The game, unlike its predecessor, will feature a persistent world.
  • Dungeon Runners, the first free to play game by NCsoft went well, even if the game features advertising during free play.
  • The NCcoin, used in Exteel, may be used more extensively as NCsoft currency.
  • NCsoft has agreed to produce games for the PS3. The first title is due by the end of 2008.
  • Garriott is off to develop and plan progress for the company. Chris Chung, former vice president for worldwide product development, will start as President in the new year.

    Hope you got all of that in at once. It sure is a ton of information to read and process, and things seem to be booming over at NCsoft. I'm really excited about everything Garriott mentioned, especially the PS3 development and the persistent world of Guild Wars 2. Only time will tell how this company will fare in the coming years, but I think its on its way swiftly upwards.


  •   Official Blizzard Podcast Confirmed

    World of Warcraft

    Blizzard has decided to produce its own official video podcast beginning in January of the new year. The show will feature questions to developers from the gaming community via fan sites, who forward the questions they receive to Community Managers Karune and Nethaera.

    The first episode features an interview with Starcraft II's art developer about concept art for SC and Warcraft alongside an interview with Jeff Kaplan, World of Warcraft's Lead Designer, about WoW's next major content patch.

    This is a great move for Blizzard. This will bring the common player into the mix, allowing the company to be more transparent and excite already excited players with new information more often.



     Log Out

    It looks like there aren't any letters this week. Everyone's been busy with the holidays, and I don't expect the slump to end until after the new year.

    Meanwhile, I'll still post a request for letters, this week featuring New Year's MMO resolutions. I promise to try out more MMOs and try my hand at end-game raiding in 2008, what about you?

    For now, I'm off to finally get the mount for my Blood Elf priest in WoW. I can almost taste the chocobo.

    Until then,
    Jake Miller (mail me)


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